Tuesday, December 31, 2013

"I have a loved one who is into political conspiracy theories. For example, a couple of years ago, he told me a few months before the Presidential election that it would not take place because the US would be under martial law by that time and Obama would be ruler for life. Innocent citizens will be shot down by drones as they're walking down the street. The Illuminati is behind everything. There are secret military training camps hidden all over the country. His latest is hiding away survival materials in the instance that he would need to protect himself against government attacks. I'm starting to worry about his sanity. Still, he is a strong, Bible-believing Christian. Are there any biblical resources out there that I can pass along to him to perhaps persuade him to forget all this craziness and trust Christ?" (message received from a reader of our blog)

Why do people become captivated by conspiracy theories? Why do some otherwise rational thinkers begin to follow rabbit trails in their thinking, rabbit trails which conjure up all manner of nefarious mischief being plotted, when there is no evidence to support their beliefs? More specifically, why do some Christians become ensnared by such thinking, given that, of all people in the world, Christians should be those with the most hope and the most joy, and should not given to suspicious, paranoid thinking, such as is engendered by the conspiratorial worldview? Is there even a balanced way to think about conspiracy theories? What about secret plots that have existed over the years and which have come to light (such as the KGB brainwashing, Nazi human experimentation, etc.)?

With those thoughts in mind, I would like to point our readers to two of today's Christian writers who are tackling this topic of the conspiratorial worldview head on. On a recent Dividing Line program, Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries discussed the production of conspiracy videos in which spooky, manipulative music and leading language take the place of actual scholarly data. The specific film being discussed was Tares Among The Wheat by filmmaker and talk show host Chris Pinto, and in this segment, Dr. White christened Pinto's filmmaking style as the "the spooky music proof approach." Unfortunately, the sad reality is that these fringy films have a way of getting around in the Christian community, and thus it is a real service to the body of Christ for our respected leaders to acknowledge that these films are out there, and take the time the refute them, as Dr. White has done. (The segment begins at about the 11 minute mark in the video below.)

Writer Fred Butler (who works with John MacArthur's GTY media ministry) has also weighed in on Chris Pinto's film with his article entitled Tares Among The Wheat, A Review. In his review, Butler noted that the reason he felt the need to review this film was because Chris Pinto has been given credibility by his association with a Christian ministry that has a number of credible teachers associated with it. From Butler's article:

"Someone who is driven by a conspiratorial world view isn’t taken seriously by most regenerated, sober-minded, Bible-believing Christians. However, within the last few years, Pinto has gained more recognition by being numbered among Brannon Howse’s Worldview Weekend ministry partners. A conspiracy theorist is featured along with other reputable Christian men including John Whitcomb, pastor Mike Abendroth, Justin Peters, and Erwin Lutzer. That association provides him some credibility that I don’t believe he deserves, nor is it one the Christian church at large needs." (online source)

As I've written before, my own thinking became fear-based for a brief season of my Christian walk by scaremongering radio shows, websites and videos. After all, as an ex-occultist, I am fully aware that there is genuine evil out there, that occultic and New Age groups do use occultic symbols, etc., etc. It was only in conversations with my friend Marcia Montenegro (who is also a former occultist/New Ager and who writes for Christian Answers For The New Age) that my own thinking became more biblically aligned. Out of those conversations, I asked Marcia to write an article on symbols that really was a turning point in my own Christian walk as far as steadying me in this regard. (You can read that article here.) So please understand that my true desire is to exhort my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to guard their minds against this kind of fear-based teaching. God did NOT mean for us to walk in fear! Yes, it is true that Jesus, Paul, and most (if not all) of the apostles were targeted by conspiratorial groups (which were in all likelihood guided by Satan), groups that sought and achieved their deaths. And yet, Scripture nowhere exhorted them (and by extension, us) to focus on the evidences of these conspiracies, but only to continue studying God's word, growing in the faith, and sharing Christ with the lost.

God's Sovereignty

When I did a Precepts study on the book of Isaiah a few years ago, one of my takeaways from that year of study was a real wonder and marvel at the sovereignty of God. Such knowledge brings what can only be described as a supernatural peace, and I truly wish this kind of peace for my Christian brothers and sisters enslaved to a focus on Conspiracy Theories. In Isaiah, God reveals himself as an omnipotent being so powerful that He has the ability to swing the pagan rulers over his head like a club and mete out punishment to the Israelites using these pagan kings as a disciplining tool. He reveals himself as a God who knows the end from the beginning, as a God who sets up (and takes down) rulers, as the One who says "I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass." (Isa 46:11) Such knowledge of God should bring us peace and joy, even in the midst of this dark and crooked generation in which we live.

A very helpful passage from Isaiah 8 (below) very specifically and pointedly addresses conspiracies, one of the few places in Scripture where God does so. And before I get a barrage of emails with scriptures mentioning plots and conspiracies, please try to understand that just because there are Bible verses that do mention plots and conspiracies, this does NOT mean that Christians should extrapolate out from that that we should spend hours of our time on the internet, attempting to connect this nefarious group to that nefarious group. That's a very, very poor hermeneutic.

"For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 'Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.'" (Isaiah 8:11-13)

I have personally dealt with Christians completely ensnared to the conspiratorial worldview, and if you try to lovingly and gently point out why this type of material isn’t edifying to the Christian walk, ah well, then, *you* must therefore be part of The Big Conspiracy. You’re not a fellow Christian, you’re One Of Them. It’s very tidy, how this whole cottage industry first preys upon people’s fears and then answers back to the naysayers who would attempt to bring in a reasoned, biblical response to those ensnared by the teachings being peddled. And make no mistake: there is an entire cottage industry of these kinds of videos that lurks within Christendom, ready to prey upon Christian’s fears. Illuminati! Bilderberg! The all-seeing-eye! Oh my! It’s a real moneymaking endeavor for the person who can convince his audience that he alone is the decoder who can help them Connect The Dots, because well, they will just keep coming back for more…and more…and more. What I eventually began to realize, through God’s grace and the Holy Spirit growing me in discernment, was that God truly never meant for us to walk in fear of Satan’s schemes, but by being undergirded with the truth of God’s word which commands us to fear ONLY the Lord (Prov 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom”).

In closing, I want to say clearly that while the conspiracy stuff is not considered an essential, this is still NOT a minor issue. Conspiratorial thinking is not only not edifying to the Christian walk, but as I stated earlier, nowhere in Scripture are we taught to unravel supposed conspiracies. Instead, we're to keep our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). I know several Christians who attest to having gotten involved with this conspiracy stuff, and that it made them fearful, anxious and perhaps even a tad pietistic (and I mean "pietistic" in the sense of feeling one has superior knowledge to other "lesser" Christians who are supposedly clueless of all these supposed secret societies actively working to do spiritual mischief). A Christian friend, who at one time was ensnared by the conspiratorial mindset, made the following remark to me:

"All I know is my family used to joke around about me wearing a tin foil hat. Were they intrigued? Yes. I could tell them all kinds of Illuminati, Masonic, Satan worship, mind stealing stories and keep them glued to my pc for hours!!! Did they get saved? No. Did they hear the gospel? Not really. They wanted to hear more conspiracy junk over what the Bible has to say. They didn't care if I had any good MacArthur downloads. I'm glad I turned away from that stuff because there isn't a whole lot I can do about the New World Order. But....God can and God is still on the throne and I'd much rather prepare myself to meet Him. He's really the one we should fear and not the Jesuits creeping around. Let 'em creep. God's watching them and they can only do what He allows. Why scare the heck out of yourselves and your loved ones? Not edifying at all."

To answer the question posed at the beginning of this article about whether or not there is a balanced way for Christians to view conspiracy theories, the answer is yes, there is. Simply put, it involves weighing actual evidence, and not just relying on anecdotal accounts or speculation. Of all people, Christians know that there is real evil in the world, and that we have a real Adversary, a real spiritual presence that is alive and well and active in the world today ("Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8). But, we also know that a sovereign Lord rules and reigns over the affairs of man, and that what we are commanded to do is simple: contend for truth and share the gospel.

"Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:1-2a)

"Say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns.' The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity." (Psalm 96:10)

"The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake." (Psalm 99:1)

"The LORD has established His throne in the heavens; And His sovereignty rules over all." (Psalm 103:19)

"In the LORD's hand the king's heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him." (Proverbs 22:1)

"Thus says the LORD, 'Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them'" (Jeremiah 10:2)

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." (Romans 13:1)

"It is God changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding." (Daniel 2:21)

"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 1:3)

"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2)

Satan is alive and well, and is a very real and active presence in the world today. We're not to be ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor 2:11), but only in the sense that we need to know how to tear down the strongholds of worldly wisdom raised up against God's unchanging truth, and that we do by applying God's word, rightly divided, "for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds" (2 Cor 10:4). The answer is to refute the false beliefs with truth from God's word. Our battle is doctrinal, it has to do with ideas, not with things like decoding symbols or connecting the dots from this nefarious group to that nefarious group. With all this in mind, not only do I now refuse to have any part of any ministry actively selling videos that serve to ensnare Christians with a conspiratorial worldview, I would even go a step further and say that because I see such thinking as being so potentially damaging to the Christian walk, I believe I have something of a responsibility to actively warn against teachings that serve to create such a mindset. And thankfully, more Christians (James White of AOMin, Fred Butler of GTY, etc.) are also now beginning to weigh in on this topic. It's an important issue to address and for all of us as Christians to be mindful of as we navigate our own Christian walks.

I hope that my brothers and sisters in Christ who enjoy celebrating Christmas are enjoying this season as we celebrate our Savior's birth. We are spending a lot of time in our house dwelling on the goodness of God, and on the fact that He actually chose to dwell among us as a human being, as one of us. Because of this, He is intimately acquainted with our struggles and sufferings, and can empathize with us at the deepest level. What a humbling and encouraging thing to know about our Savior! Are you weary and heavy leaden? He knows your struggles, and bids you to come to Him, for He alone will give your soul rest.

"Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Heb 2:17-18)

"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb 4:15-16)

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

I love celebrating Christmas! As a former New Ager, I have written before about my guilty secret of celebrating Christmas every year as a non-believer, even during the decade in which I was immersed in New Age and eastern beliefs. To the dismay of my New Age friends (palm readers, tarot card readers, psychics, reiki practitioners, etc.), every year at Christmas time, I put up a tree, decorated my house, sang Christmas carols, and endured the teasing of my more "enlightened" New Age friends who had long since cast off the traditional beliefs associated with their Judeo-Christian upbringings. And along with them, I never could quite understand why I chose to participate in celebrating Christmas. It certainly was not because I self identified in any way as a Christian (I did not). For those years of my life, my worldview was a mixed bag of New Age/New Thought mixed with eastern teachings, including reincarnation. But the idea of Christmas always seemed so hopeful to me at heart, the idea that a sovereign creator God could or would actually choose to dwell with mankind as one of us, even if I believed it wasn't true. Imagine my delight, then, as a born again Christian when I came to realize that it WAS true after all: God did become flesh, and He did dwell among us. And He did it out of his great and wondrous love for us, as part of his plan of redemption. Amazing! Obviously, Christmas took on a whole new flavor for me after that.

I still have a deep love for Christmas today, and the idea of celebrating our Savior, God in the flesh, coming to earth. Each year as a believer, it is with great joy that I embrace the Christmas season (earlier and earlier each season, my husband would hasten to point out). And while I recognize that for some, the Christmas season is one big frazzled rush, I really love the joy and sparkle and decorating and busyness of the Christmas season. My sons are still at home with us, and I like being able to advantage of the many opportunities I have to point them toward the joy of knowing and remembering and dwelling on God's goodness in providing a Savior for us, in whatever ways I can. For instance, I take great pleasure in cooking special foods that we have only at Christmas time, because I can use this as an object lesson to point my boys to God's goodness in giving us special, delicious dishes that we can look forward to and enjoy only during the Christmas season. A little taste of heaven to come, is how I frame it.

The songs we sing during the Christmas season are also a great opportunity we can use as a springboard for broaching the subject with our lost loved ones of how it is that man is reconciled to God (and WHY he needs to be reconciled to God in the first place). After all, so many of our Christmas carols are just loaded with doctrine that tell the story of Redemption in just a few verses.....and we ALL know those songs, even the lost! Christmas carols are played over and over and over all season long at Target, at the mall, at the grocery store, at Wal-Mart......they're everywhere! We go around humming and whistling these familiar tunes, many of us remembering them from our childhood. And yet, only Christians can actually explain to the lost what these songs mean.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
(from O Holy Night)

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day,To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.O tidings of comfort and joy!
(from God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)

In those verses above, you can see the eternal problem of man laid out very simply in just a few words: man with a sin debt he cannot pay, and a holy God, to whom man is accountable, stepping into history with a plan of Redemption. How simple is it to turn to someone in the store next to you and say, Aren't these Christmas carols so beautiful! Do you know the meaning of the one you are humming? I can tell you about it......

Having said all this, I have noticed in recent weeks what seems to now be an annual occurrence of Christians-shouldn't-celebrate-Christmas-because-it's-a-pagan-holiday commentary online. So to address that topic head on, I would like to first say that I would never urge a brother or sister to go against their conscience if they felt that celebrating Christmas was wrong or sinful. I don't disdain my brothers or sisters who don't have a comfort level with such celebrations, nor do I feel somehow superior in my freedom. But what I would like to point out is that a lot of this fear over celebrating Christmas (and oftentimes Easter, too) comes from misinformation attributed to an historian named Alexander Hislop. We've posted before about the myths associated with Hislop which you can read about here, myths that were formed from his own biases, and which were not actually rooted in historical data. And I would therefore urge, with all gentleness and kindness, for my fellow Christians to think this issue through biblically, historically and truthfully. After all, God is the author of ALL truth, isn't He? So truth matters.

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!' When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.' And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." (Luke 2:8-20)

"And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." (Matthew 2:11)

I would also like to ask for my Christian friends who are not comfortable with celebrating Christmas not to disdain those of us who do enjoy celebrating the birth of our Savior. After all, the gospel accounts of Luke and Matthew DO tell of Jesus' birth being proclaimed, angels singing his praises, shepherds rushing to see him, and wise men bringing him gifts some time later. So for Christmas, I feel freedom and great joy in:

......proclaiming his birth (often using Christmas as a springboard to talk about how God has sent a Savior who died for sinners);

......singing his praises;

.....dwelling on the fact that one day I will bodily be in his presence, just as those who rushed to his side that day were in his presence; and

.....exchanging gifts with my loved ones as a way of remembering the greatest Gift of all time, our Savior, who was given to us by God out of his great loving-kindness.

So again: I would never urge Christians to go against their consciences and celebrate a holiday or festival they aren't comfortable with. BUT, for those who look forward to Christmas each year so that they can celebrate the birth of their Savior (even though no-one knows the actual date of Jesus' birth), yet who have heard that they are sinning against God if they love celebrating Christmas, please read the articles linked below, and feel freedom to reclaim your joy in Christmas.

"As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.......Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God." (Romans 14:1-6, 10)

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." (Colossians 2:16)

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Chris Pinto: "Is it not possible that within those 2,000 manuscripts that there could be the readings that you are referring to in Codex Sinaiticus? The unique readings....is that not possible?"

Dr. James White: "Anything is possible, but that is not how you do history."

Chris Pinto: "Have you been to Mt. Athos?"

Dr. James White: "No, I have not been to Mt. Athos."

Chris Pinto: "You have not been to Mt. Athos, okay. Do you believe it is possible that within the total of fifteen thousand manuscripts on Mt. Athos, because this was where the work was done, on Mt. Athos...they have a total of fifteen thousand manuscripts there, and we are told that there's at least a hundred manuscripts on Mt. Athos itself that had never been seen by the outside world.....do you believe it's possible that among those manuscripts are the three unnamed manuscripts that Simonides mentioned in his writing?"

Dr. James White: "Well again, it's possible that the New Testament in Klingon is on Mt. Athos too, but I haven't been there, and nobody's seen them. But again, the problem in your question is that mere possibilities are not facts in evidence." (Debate, 59 minute mark)

The above exchange was an amusing moment in last night's Codex Sinaiticus debate, and was somewhat unexpected given that textual criticism, often regarded as a dry and dusty topic, is not generally given to humor. But the exchange was revealing in that it highlighted that respected Bible scholar Dr. White showed up being, well, Dr. White, thoroughly prepared and ready to go, and Worldview Weekend's Chris Pinto showed up with not much more than speculation and vague possibilities, which as Dr. White so humorously but correctly pointed out, is not the way textual criticism is done.

The Details Dr. James White (Alpha and Omega Ministries) and Chris Pinto (Noise of Thunder Radio) have finally completed their much anticipated debate last night on Pirate Christian Radio. The debate topic was "Codex Sinaiticus: Is It A Modern Forgery?" (The debate can be listened to in its entirety here.)

The Codex-Sinaiticus-Is-A-Forgery argument has been trotted out time and time again to bolster the King James Only (KJVO)/Textus Receptus Only (TRO) position, a view which casts suspicion on all translations that don't come from the Textus Receptus. (Dr. James gives a brief synopsis of the KJVO movement here.) The reason this issue matters so much is because the KJVO/TRO view has produced an almost cult-like movement within Christianity, and if left unchecked, these errant teachings have a way of infecting, and affecting, the body of Christ in profoundly negative ways. Many of us as Christians have had at least some kind of experience in dealing with Kings James Only/Textus Receptus Only proponents, and we understand the difficulties in helping those ensnared in these beliefs to understand the truth.

It seems as if every generation or so, a new proponent of the King James Onlyism/Textus Receptus Only position emerges, with Chris Pinto of Noise of Thunder Radio apparently being today's bearer of that torch. But I agree with Dr. White when he stated on his Oct 22, 2013 show that "Mr. Pinto and folks like him, are a hundred years behind in scholarly study." The fact is that all of us can, and do, make mistakes. My hope is for Chris Pinto and Dr. White to actually get together off-the-record, during which time Dr. White can bring Chris Pinto up to speed on the many, many much older fragments and whole sections of the Bible that have been found since the time of Textus Receptus that independently corroborate each other, and which sort of make the "King James Only/Textus Receptus Only" arguments obsolete. No conspiracy can account for that kind of independent corroboration.

Fred Butler of Grace To You media ministry and the Hip and Thigh blog has also recently given his testimony of being a former King James Onlyist. He describes himself as having been "known as a guy you wanted to avoid" because of his argumentative and strong stance for the King James Only position. But while at seminary, he was challenged by a friend to look at the evidence, which he decided to do. Butler went down to the seminary library and gathered up all the sources cited by Gail Riplinger in her book, and as he tells it, he knew within minutes that Riplinger was "not being honest with her research." And of course, not long after that, he came out of KJVOnlyism. (You can listen to his interview in its entirety here, starting at the 35 minute mark.)

I've also heard Bob DeWaay of Gospel of Grace Fellowship discuss the KJVO/TRO issue with respect to Gail Riplinger (the leading KJV-Onlyist of several decades ago). He makes the point that these kinds of teachings move along and gain steam because the more solid teachers might be aware of the wrong teaching and think, "Well that's absurd, no-one's going to be taken in by that," and then not think it worthy enough to even address. But unfortunately, when that happens, the errant teaching continues to grow and gain steam, and is doing damage to the body of Christ all along the way because it hasn't been definitively addressed. So it's therefore a good thing we have the James Whites and the Bob DeWaays and the Chris Rosebroughs and the Fred Butlers out there who have the will to contend, and who are willing to get in and do the heavy lifting of doing a point-by-point, scholarly refutation of the errant teaching in question.

Incidentally, I suspect that the ripple effect from this debate will no doubt continue for years to come, much like James White's debate with Gail Riplinger from 20 years ago that is still considered a landmark event, and is still discussed today. A big thank you to Dr. James White for taking the time to systematically work through the errant teachings of the KJVO/TRO position in last night's debate, and a big thank you also to Chris Rosebrough of Fighting For The Faith for setting up the debate.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Mark Driscoll: "The one issue though that they were struggling with surrounded conflict and sin with two leaders. They're mentioned in chapter 4, verse 2 (of Philippians). And these two leaders had somehow gotten into sin, or pride, or folly, we're not exactly sure what. But there was contention and controversy around these two leaders. We find ourselves in exactly that same season as a church, where we recently had to discipline two senior leaders in the church. The people in the days of the Philippian church, they responded with grumbling and questioning. Many of the members of our church are guilty of those same sins. Lots of grumbling and questioning........So some of you are like, what does that mean in Greek? It certainly can't mean shut up and do what you're told? That's what it means."

If a pastor ever tells you that asking questions about an elder leaving is a sin, well, you might want to think about looking for another church. This is how cult leaders talk. Cult leaders demand blind obedience and will try to tell you that asking questions about leadership matters is sinful. Sometimes they do this harshly, but sometimes they do this with a very winsome, humble appearance.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

A dust-up recently occurred at the Strange Fire Conference (a conference exposing the theological errors of the charismatic movement), in which megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll (who is a charismatic) showed up at the conference and tried to hand out his books, probably for the purpose of "correcting" what he sees as the errors of the cessationist movement. Initial reports of what happened (including Driscoll's own Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds) were that security had seized Driscoll's materials. They didn't. I was on the phone in almost real time with friends of mine at the conference who were told by a member of the security detail what actually happened.

This is what I was told: Mark Driscoll was NOT a registered participant for this event, and his materials had not been cleared for distribution. Every vendor present at Strange Fire had to go through an extensive vetting process before being allowed to set up their tables. When security explained this to Driscoll, Driscoll continued to try to give out the materials. He was told by security that they would help him take his materials back to his car, and he told them he would like to give them to Grace Community Church as a gift. They accepted this "gift," (Driscoll's words), and when they parted company with Driscoll, Driscoll immediately began broadcasting via social media that his materials had been seized. It was a bald-faced lie.

Mark Driscoll went in with an agenda to kick up a fuss, and get his books into the hands of GTY personnel. Only, the GTY folks were far more kind and gracious in dealing with him than he probably thought they would be, and he literally had to force his books on them.

Mark Driscoll to the GTY personnel: "Why don't y'all just take 'em and do whatever you want with 'em."

Mark Driscoll on his twitter feed: "Security confiscated my books."

I would also like to point out that Driscoll slandered the security personnel at GTY by claiming they did something that they did not do, and he has yet to publicly apologize for that. By all accounts, the security personnel who dealt with Driscoll are godly, humble men who were just doing their jobs, and as the video evidence proves, they did their jobs with Mark Driscoll very kindly and graciously (you can read more about that here). All of the people who comprise the security team at GTY are real people, and are all members of the body of Christ. Just because nobody in Christendom knows the names of the GTY security personnel doesn't mean that they aren't every bit a part of the body of Christ as all the rest of us no-namers out there. It also doesn't mean that they can just be used as a means to an end for a Celebrity Pastor with an agenda. I might potentially like to see a public interaction between MacArthur/Driscoll at some point (which Driscoll has publicly asked for), but it surely cannot be like this, not with Driscoll gatecrashing an event at which he was not a paid registrant in order to pass out unvetted materials, and then leveraging himself up over the no-name bodies of security personnel to get what he wanted. That's not right.Video of what happened: